Unspoken: African Dialogues

Colonisation and Independence

Scramble for Africa

Scramble for Africa is a term used to describe the control of African territory by European countries from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century.  In the 1870s, only 10% of the continent was controlled by European countries and this increased to 90% by 1914.  The Scramble for Africa started as a result of expeditions by European explorers in the nineteenth century.  The explorers were returning home and sharing what they had seen in different African countries, which led to a growing interest from European countries in the continent and its resources.  In the 1880s, European countries began to look at expanding territorial control on the continent.  However, there began to be competing interests that was leading to tensions between European countries.

Berlin Conference

From 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885, there were a series of negotiations in Berlin between European countries regarding competing claims for territory across Africa.  

The countries present at the Berlin Conference were: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway and the United States of America.

As a result of the Berlin Conference six declarations were made:

1. The Congo River Basin would remain neutral

2. There would be guaranteed freedom for trade and shipping for all states in the basin

3. Slave trading is forbidden

4. Free navigation of the Congo River

5. Free navigation of the Niger River

6. A framework was established for recognising any new occupation of African coastal territory by European powers

After the Berlin Conference there was a sharp increase in the colonisation of African countries, which further exacerbated the Scramble for Africa.  A part of the increase was due to European countries being worried that other countries would take land and benefit from it.  The declarations from the Berlin Conference were not always adhered to, which led to continued conflict between European countries.

Debates in colonisation and independence

The history of colonisation and the journey to independence was by no means a straightforward narrative for each African country.  In particular, there are debates surrounding Liberia and Ethiopia and how they are perceived within the contexts of colonisation and independence.  Liberia and Ethiopia have been described as being independent states and were not affected by the European colonisation of African countries.  

Liberia is known as the oldest republic in Africa.  There are debates about whether Liberia in fact had been impacted by colonisation.  Liberia was established on land acquired for people who had been enslaved in the United States of America, by the American Colonization Society, which founded a colony at Cape Mesurado in 1821.  In 1824, the territory was named Liberia.  Some argue that Liberia was not an independent state because it was created by a foreign country for their own purpose and that its establishment was in fact a form of colonisation.

Ethiopia is known as an independent country that was never colonised.  However, Ethiopia had been subjected to military occupation from Italy.  Ethiopia defeated Italy in 1896, but in 1936 Italy invaded and annexed Ethiopia.  Italy’s military occupation of Ethiopia ended in 1941 when Italy was driven out by the British, Commonwealth and Ethiopians.  Academics have put forward the notion that while Ethiopia was never colonised, they experienced self-colonisation.  Self-colonisation is when “after a period of foreign occupation, the country adopts foreign values, that leads to a symbolic or internal subjugation of its people and culture that is similar to the impact of colonisation, but without direct foreign rule or territorial conquest.”  Emperor Halle Selassie introduced radical westernisation of Ethiopia after the Second World War.  He strived to modernise Ethiopia and his efforts to modernise education introduced more Western educated elites into government.  As a result, Ethiopia was adopting Western constructs that challenged Ethiopian culture and values.  There are some who argue that although Ethiopia was never physically colonised, they experienced the effects of colonisation and the development of the country faced the same developmental challenges as countries that had experienced colonisation.

Independence

The Second World War became the turning point for African countries and the sentiment for achieving independence from colonial powers began to rise.  The war impacted drastically the finances of European countries who had made claims on African territory and this made it difficult to continue to fund their overseas interests.  African countries became increasingly frustrated with colonial rule and seeing the situation in their countries getting worse, despite the support many African countries provided for their colonial rulers during the Second World War.

The first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence from colonisation was Ghana in 1957.  65,000 soldiers from the Gold Coast Regiment returned to the Gold Coast (now known as Ghana) at the end of the Second World War after fighting for Britain.  They hoped that after their service in the war that Britain would give the Gold Coast its independence.  Instead, they returned to high unemployment rates and increased taxes, which resulted in dissatisfaction with British rule.  

Once Ghana achieved independence, a number of other African countries that were under British rule began to declare independence in the following years.

The consensus of who achieved independence first differs depending on how people have chosen to define it.  Some define Africa as referring to sub-Saharan countries on the continent.  This is why it is widely claimed that Ghana is the first African country to gain independence.  Sudan did achieve independence in 1956 before Ghana did in 1957, but due to not fully being below the Saharan Desert, it is not always considered to be the first African country to have gained independence.  Countries such as Egypt and Sudan in a geopolitical context have been aligned with the Middle East.  As a result, it impacts how the two countries are viewed within the wider context of the African continent.

Across the continent, the map shows each country achieving independence from the colonial rulers.  Most countries became independent in the latter part of the twentieth century.  Despite gaining their independence, the legacy of colonialism remains both tangible and intangible. 

References

BBC News (2024) ‘Ethiopia country profile’

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13349398

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Hargrove, J. (2019-2020) ‘Ashanti Pioneer: Coverage of World War II from an African-Owned Newspaper, 1939-1947, Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, New Series, No. 19, pp. 113-142.

Israel, A.M. (1987) ‘Measuring the War Experience: Ghanaian Soldiers in World War II’, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp.159-168.

Kulik, R.M. (2025) ‘Scramble for Africa’, Britannica

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Scramble-for-Africa

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Petterson, D.R. and Bowen Jones, A. (2025) ‘Liberia’, Britannica.

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Liberia

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Taddese Terefe, M. (2017) ‘Ethiopia was colonised, African Arguments

Available at: https://africanarguments.org/2017/06/ethiopia-was-colonised/

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Woldeyes, Y.G. (2017) Native Colonialism: Education and the Economy of Violence Against Tradition in Ethiopia, New Jersey: Red Sea Press.